


Against Expectations

by TranscendentalSpaceGem



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Background Relationships, Background Sadie/Shep, Lars/Sadie mentioned, Meaning Stevonnie is over 40, Nonbinary Character, Open Relationships, Other, Polyamory, Post Series, Relationship Talk, Steven Connie and Sadie are all in their 20's, Stevonnie and Sadie are just friends though, Though more like Polysexual, Wholesome Friendship, background connverse - Freeform, brief mentions of sex, by a couple years, supportive friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28069794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentalSpaceGem/pseuds/TranscendentalSpaceGem
Summary: Sadie showed up at the diner expecting to see Steven only to find a different but familiar face waiting for them there instead. What follows is brunch and a talk about love, fusion, and what it means to be yourself.Happy Birthday to E350!
Relationships: Sadie Miller & Stevonnie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Against Expectations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [E350tb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/gifts).



> E350 is on the other side of the world so even though our birthdays are a day apart we're birthday buddies! I wrote them this little fic for them with some of their favorite characters and headcanons as a way of saying "Happy Birthday" and thanks for being my friend.

Sadie had been on the road awhile now, touring with her partner Shep. They were wonderful and treated her with the respect she deserved. The two of them made a wonderful pair as well. They really brought out the best in each other. More so than Sadie could ever have imagined. Things were paradise on wheels as the musical duo toured the country as a folk-pop sensation. Even if things with them were unconventional.

Steven had been on the road a few years himself and Sadie always made time to see him when they were in the same area. She considered the boy to be almost like a younger brother of sorts to her. So when she got the text from Steven’s phone saying that he would be in the city of Atlus only a few days after her show, of course, she’d convinced Shep to reschedule their next show. It was something their manager, Mr. Universe, agreed to in an instant. He wanted to spend time with his son as well. Though he had already set up in their next location and was now booking it through the state to make it there before Steven moved on to his next destination.

However, when Sadie arrived at the old country diner to have lunch with her old friend, it was not Steven who she saw waiting near the back in a booth but a figure she hadn’t seen in years. She and Lars had been completely taken by the charm and the beauty of the person currently waving her over with a wide smile plastered on their face. Eventually, the teens had learned that their mystery object of affection was actually Steven and Connie fused together (which killed any genuine romantic interest in them). Stevonnie though, as Sadie now knew they were called, was still a sight to be seen. Everything from the curly locks to the tan skin to the friendly eyes made you want to stare at them until your eyes started to bleed.

While she was still confused as to why it was the fusion meeting her rather than her old friend, Sadie made her way to the back of the diner with a timid smile. The place had enough people to be considered busy without being overly crowded. Though it was probably rude that the enby had claimed a whole booth just for the two- or maybe three?- no, two of them. It was confusing.

“Sadie! Hi,” Stevonnie greeted with that same giant smile. “I’m so happy to see you again!”

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you too,” she said as the other person threw an arm around her in a hug. It was oddly personal considering she barely knew Stevonnie. It wasn’t too strange for Sadie for someone to know her better than she knew them. As a semi-famous musician that happened as often as anyone would expect. It just hadn’t been what she expected on this trip. She had been expecting familiarity and instead, she had gotten… whatever was happening here.

“So, how’s show business?” they asked as Sadie slid into a seat across from them in the booth. “I actually heard you on the radio when I was driving here! It was so cool! I started freaking out and I told the guy at the stoplight that I knew you!”

Stevonnie laughed at their own comment. It was very like Steven’s laugh and equally unlike it. Sadie assumed the parts that were different came from Connie. She didn’t know Connie well. That wasn’t to say she didn’t _like_ Connie. From all she knew about the girl, Sadie thoughts that she was great and she sounded perfect for Steven. She had recognized from that first time at the Big Donut that Steven had felt something special for the girl. Of course, so had Lars though he’d been a jerk about it. It’s what she came to expect of her own first love. Steven had gotten much luckier in that department than Sadie had.

“Oh gosh,” Sadie said, scratching the back of her neck, “I hope he wasn’t too bothered by that.”

“Nah, he was fine,” the other answered with a wave of their hand then embarrassingly admit, “Though he may have thought I wanted to race because he took off afterward. Really fast too.”

At that, Sadie laughed. The admission brought her comfort. It was such a Steven thing to not understand when he was infringing on someone’s boundaries. It put her at ease and she was able to relax and shrug off her coat. This new person wasn’t someone she had to worry about. They were her friend even as much as they were a stranger.

“Alright, you want to order then?” she asked, picking up her menu. Stevonnie followed her lead picking up their own menu.

“Yeah! Make sure you get a milkshake with your meal though,” her old and new friend insisted, “I’m been to this place a few times around the country and they make the best shakes ever!”

“Steve- Stevonnie,” she quickly corrected, “It’s 10 am.”

“So?” Stevonnie replied, “It’s never too early for milkshakes!”

“Can’t argue with that!” she agreed as she picked out what she wanted.

They ordered a few breakfast combos, one for Sadie and two for Stevonnie. While she wasn’t sure about it, she did wonder if the fusion needed to eat more because they were technically two people. Though Steven had been able to pack his stomach pretty full back when they were still young so maybe that had nothing to do with it at all. The twosome shot a few questions back and forth as they ate. Mostly they talked about their travels, what they’d seen and done in the time since they saw each other last. They talked about Sadie’s music career and about how Connie and Steven had both recently finished school. Once they both had their degrees Steven had suggested to Connie they take another road trip. She had obviously agreed because here she was- or rather here they were. Stevonnie. Sadie could understand the sense of romance and adventure that came with traveling with the one you loved. Although she couldn’t say that she and Shep had ever been quite this close.

Finally, the meal wound down and each was presented with a milkshake (a small one for Sadie and a very large one for Stevonnie) she couldn’t hold her curiosity in any longer. She had to ask.

“So,” she started with a classic Sadie side smirk, “When did this happen?”

“When did what happen?” Stevonnie asked, already having downed a big portion of their shake.

Sadie laughed again before she clarified, waving her hand over the length of her companion, “You know, _this_.”

“Oh!” they said, understanding what she was asking them. For the first time since she arrived the fusion looked embarrassed, “this is just something that Steven and Connie do sometimes.”

“Like for fun?”

“Yes- No- Kinda?” Stevonnie looked down at their shake with a blush gracing their lovely face, “They like to be close. And I like existing. I mean, I do still exist even when they aren’t together like this but physically I like being around. I’m sorry, I’m not making any sense. Connie hates it when I don’t make sense. I mean, I hate it. Gosh, how do I say this?”

“Hey, hey,” Sadie said soothingly, “Relax. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just curious. I’m not judging you or anything.”

“Right, of course not,” the other said though Sadie wasn’t sure she believed them until they said, “I know you better than that. I should trust you.”

“I’m just a bit caught off guard, to be honest,” Sadie admit, “I was expecting Steven and instead, well you’re here.” Suddenly hearing her words, she quickly backtracked, “Not that I’m not having a great time with you! This has been really fun and I know Steven is here as much as he can be when you’re like this. And I’m happy he’s doing good for himself.”

“He…” the fusion trailed off, “He wanted to be here today. He planned to be here, just him, but-”

Sadie reached her hand over across the table to place it on top of one of Stevonnie’s hands. While she didn’t know them as well as she knew Steven, that one part of them was someone she cared for deeply. By extension that meant she cared for Connie who Steven loved which also meant she cared for Stevonnie. So although touch often made Sadie nervous she didn’t have reservations about comforting the fusion.

“It’s okay, you know,” she said, “You know me, remember? You can tell me. No judgment here.”

“Right,” Stevonnie confirmed for the pair, “No judgment.”

They took a deep breath with their eyes closed. They ran one hand through their hair before they seemed ready to speak with Sadie again. Rubbing their hand against the growing stubble of their cheeks then scratching the back of their neck they finally explained, “It’s been hard…”

“What has?” their friend asked.

“Us being apart,” Stevonnie explained, “Recently, we- I- Steven and Connie want to be together. All the time.”

“I think most couples are like that,” she said, sympathetically, thinking of Shep and before them of Lars. She couldn’t get enough of either even when they were driving her up a wall. That was just how love was sometimes.

Her companion shook their head, however, “No, Sadie. I mean all the time. As in every second of every day. I’m pretty sure they’ve been together like this more than they’ve been apart these last few months. In fact, I know they have.”

Sadie’s eyes widened at that as the realization hit her “How long have you been Stevonnie?”

They sighed, “Five weeks at this point. The longest yet.”

“Oh.”  
  
“Steven really wanted to be here, Sadie, but he just couldn’t,” they tried to explain, “I don’t know how to say it…”

“It’s okay,” she assured, “I’m sure if he couldn’t make it then he has a reason. Besides, he is kinda here, in a way.”

“Yeah, he is,” the fusion said, “He’s happy to see you too! So is Connie and so am I!”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Are you sure this is… okay?” they asked.

“Of course, it is,” she confirmed, “It’s been fun! It’s nice to get away from Shep sometimes and hang out with my friends-”

Stevonnie’s face fell.

“Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with being together all the time,” she amended, “Shep and I are weirdly independent! More than most couples are actually. If you two want to be together all the time, that’s great.”

"It’s fine,” Stevonnie responded, colder than usual, “We- they- I know it’s weird for other people. I’m not sure how to get over that. Garnet makes it looks easy. The fusions at Little Homeschool are so comfortable doing it too. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to just be me all the time.”

“Do you want to be like Garnet?” Sadie asked of Stevonnie’s confession. She didn’t know much about gems but she understood Garnet was two gems fused that were together most of the time and living as one gem. Is that what Steven and Connie wanted as well? To live as Stevonnie?

“I don’t know,” they further confessed, “I think. I want to talk to her about it but I want to do it in person. All I know right now is Steven and Connie always want to be close to each other. It’s been an interesting year, to say the least.”

Stevonnie looked between the glasses, their milkshake forgotten about. Sadie stayed quiet to see what the enby had to say. If they needed to talk then she wanted to be there for them when they were ready. Eventually, the fusion met her eyes again. Then took another deep breath as if to steady themselves.

“It started after graduation,” they began their story, “Steven had another year and a half left after Connie did since he started later. She moved back home and they couldn’t stand it. Being apart from each other was more difficult than it had ever been before. They were talking on the phone every night and constantly texting and sending pictures. Eventually, the two got an apartment in their college town. Connie got an internship nearby and they moved in together. At first, it was just as friends. They even had separate beds.”

Stevonnie sighed, “That wasn’t working out that well so they traded in two twins for a queen, thinking they needed to be as close as possible to get over whatever hang up they were having but that still didn’t help.” They began to play with the straw of their shake as their eyes drifted and became unfocused. They seemed embarrassed by the next part of their story, “So, uh, then they thought maybe, possibly it was an intimacy thing. They hadn’t gone far in that department and figured it was time to try it out. They- they had a lot of sex.”

It was a bold confession for them to make but Sadie understood why they were most likely sharing it. They were trying to get her to see what the two young adults had been going through. They didn’t want Sadie to make guesses on how to fix their problem so they were telling her what solutions they already tried.

“Again, it kinda helped,” they shrugged, “It helped more than just sleeping in the same bed did.”

“Sounds like it still wasn’t enough though,” Sadie responded with a nod. While it wasn’t under anywhere near the same circumstances, she knew what it was like to not get what you needed out of a relationship. In more ways than Stevonnie knew. In more ways than anyone really knew. Mr. Universe knew as much as she felt he needed to about her situation. Her empathy wasn’t just related to Lars.

“It really wasn’t,” the fusion confirmed, “Then one night while they were- while it was happening they kinda just-” Stevonnie held up their hands to interlace their fingers in a demonstration of what they meant, “And there I was. It had happened before. Fusing during sex. More times than it didn’t actually. But that time they just didn’t stop. They stayed as me for the rest of the night.”

The enby pulled their shake closer to them and then for the first time in a while took a long sip. Though far more invested in the story than her drink, Sadie did the same. It felt rude not to even if Stevonnie was just bracing their nerves to continue telling their story for what seemed to be the first time.

“The next morning came around and they stopped being me for a few minutes,” they continued after almost finishing half their drink, “Then Steven kissed Connie after they finished breakfast and suddenly I was back. After that, they stayed like this all day. I did Connie’s internship work from home and finished Steven’s homework. Once I was done I went for a walk and hung out with myself all day. It was exactly what we all needed.”

Once more Stevonnie played with their straw as Sadie was caught up with drinking her shake as she listened to them talk. She was entranced by the story, hanging off of every word they had to say.

“They just kept doing it after that,” the enby said, “Steven suggested getting rid of the apartment and hitting the road. Being me while the two of them had full-time jobs wasn’t working for either of them. So they decided to travel on what little savings they have and get money from whatever temporary work they can find. Or work I can find. Like I said, I’m around a lot more these days.”

Stevonnie chuckled a little, “Steven and Connie are around sometimes. They just like to be me. They hate it when they have to stop and Steven thought you would understand. He thought that you would be okay with it so he figured he would try it out.” Then they looked away ashamed, “Actually, you’re sort of his- my test run with all this.”

“Huh?” Sadie asked, weirdly feeling like she hadn’t been part of the conversation for a while and was just now being brought back it, “Test run for what?”

“For dad,” they confessed.

“Oh.”

“I’m not sure how he’s going to react to it,” Stevonnie continued before putting their straw back in their mouth to finish their shake, “I mean, I know he wants to be supportive but if I do decide to live like this…”

“Then Steven is basically gone,” their friend confirmed, “Or at least it will seem like it to him.”

“Yeah,” the fusion said with a sigh then with a groan added, “And mom and dad are going to freak out even worse. At least dad gets gem stuff. Mom and dad are might die if they see me.”

While the sentence was confusing Sadie gathered that Stevonnie had been using the word to mean Greg _and_ Doug. One to refer to the first and when paired with mom to refer to the other.

“I get that,” Sadie sympathized with her friend, “It’s weird when your situation is different than what people expect it to be.”

“You got that a lot with Lars, huh?” they asked. Steven had matured and finally understood what was unhealthy about the two teens he had wanted to be together since he met them. So it stood to reason Stevonnie knew as well. They were making the wrong assumption, however. This was about more than him.

“Yeah, Lars,” Sadie confirmed, “And Shep.”

“Shep?’ the enby asked with a worried expression, “I thought things were going good with them! I’m sorry, Sadie. I’ve been so focused on my issues. I didn’t realize that you probably have stuff going on too!”

“Relax,” Sadie laughed while once again patting Stevonnie’s hand, “Things with Shep are good. Really good. They might even be the person I spend the rest of my life with. Maybe not the way that you two will but in our way.”

“Oh,” Stevonnie said, tension leaving their shoulders. With their own confused face, they asked, “Then why did you bring them up?”

Sadie sighed. It looked like it was time to get into her own baggage. She did owe them honesty after what they shared with her though. So as the enby finished their drink she began to explain, “Things with Shep started awesome! They’re so cool and they make me really happy. They give me space when I need it and are there for me when I need that. People treat us like we’re some perfect couple. I guess we kinda are but nobody is really perfect, right?”

Stevonnie nodded as if that made sense and Sadie continued, “They did everything for me in every way but it wasn’t- it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t completely satisfied. Emotionally they were all that I needed. They still are. But physically? I needed more. They tried at first. Same as Steven and Connie, I guess,” Sadie found that she was just as shy to admit it as Stevonnies had been, “We tried a lot of different things in bed.”

Stevonnie coughed a little at that. Sadie laughed a little at that. There was humor in the fact that she hadn’t told them anything worse than what they told her and yet it rattled them. Sadie would say she was enjoying the company of the enby. Shaking her head, she continued with her story.

“None of it worked,” she said pushing her glass away from her to rest her elbow on the table and put her chin in hand, “Finally, I had to sit down and really think about what I wanted and what I needed. The only word that kept coming to me was more. Whatever I needed or wanted, it had to be more.”

With another sigh Sadie finished with, “That’s how I figured out that I’m poly.”

Stevonnie stared at their friend a moment, blinking before they said, “Uh, okay, Poly. But what does that have to do with Shep?”

It took another moment for Sadie to understand what exactly they were saying but when she did she laughed loudly. Through her snickering, she tried to explain, “No, no. I don’t mean my name is Poly. I mean that I’m not happy with having only one partner. Shep and I are still committed to each other but we both see other people too.”

“So you’re together but you still go on dates with other people?” Stevonnie asked as if to clarify.

“Exactly,” Sadie answered, “It’s called having an open relationship. Emotionally it’s just about me and them but we still do stuff with other people.”

“Does that make you happy?” the fusion asked with a tilt of their head to one side.

“It makes me very happy,” she confirmed with a nod.

“Then it sounds like a great thing to me!”

“Well, thanks,” she said, “For the record, I think your thing sounds pretty great too.”

“Thanks, that means a lot, Sadie,” the enby said with a genuine smile of gratitude. Then they looked around before asking, “Anyway, have you seen our waitress? I want to see if I can get one of these shakes to go.”

Sadie laughed quietly to themselves once more. She had to admit she could get used to Stevonnie. The enby was the best of Steven and she could only assume Connie as well. Again, Sadie didn’t know the girl well. She did feel like even after just one brunch, she knew Stevonnie well. She could see the two of them becoming great friends. Or at least, she found herself hoping that was the case.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed this little fic. Happy Birthday again to E!


End file.
